Call me emotional, but this whole “dead Dick Clark” thing really got to me last night, guys. I actually cried. I didn’t cry over Whitney Houston; I didn’t even cry over Michael Jackson. But Dick Clark? Well. Let’s just say that he had a special place in my heart, where every New Year’s Eve, I could revisit the times with my dearly departed-of-eight-years Nana—my Nana, who I spent New Year’s Eve year in and year out with up until I was probably fourteen or fifteen, along with Dick Clark. We’d make shrimp and homemade cocktail sauce, and we’d eat nacho tortilla chips and struggle to stay up until midnight, and one day in May, she died. And now Dick Clark is gone, too, and New Year’s Eve is … well, it’s going to be different from now on. I know that sounds overly-sentimental, and it’s a rarity coming from me, but jeez. Cut a girl some slack. I can’t be all ass and tits and f-cks and upskirts all of the time, you know.
Even the President is talking about Dick Clark. And that kind of made me well up, too:
“With ‘American Bandstand,’ he introduced decades’ worth of viewers to the music of our times. He reshaped the television landscape forever as a creative and innovative producer. And, of course, for 40 years, we welcomed him into our homes to ring in the New Year. But more important than his groundbreaking achievements was the way he made us feel — as young and vibrant and optimistic as he was. As we say a final `so long’ to Dick Clark, America’s oldest teenager, our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends — which number far more than he knew.”
And the really sad part (you know, aside from the fact that the man is gone) is that, in his last New Year’s Eve-related interview (back in December of ’11), his camp was asked if that year would be Dick’s last, since he’d already been on the show for forty years:
Even though Ryan Seacrest took over the main hosting duties for “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ Eve” several years ago, the man himself, Dick Clark, still tries to make an appearance every year. 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the Times Square special and to celebrate, ABC has put together a look back, which will air Dec. 31 before the live New Year’s Eve festivities begin.
When asked if the on-air tribute to the show indicates it is Clark’s last year appearing on the program, Mark Shapiro, the chief executive of Dick Clark Productions, tells the New York Times, “That’s a great question, and the only one that knows that answer is Dick himself.”
Clark later said in an email, “I hope not.”
RIP, Dick. Sure hope they keep your show named ‘Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ even though you’re gone.
I’ve actually never heard of him, so all this stuff about him being an American tradition hits a dissonant note with me.
I love Obama’s response though. It sounds so classic early 20th century American.
I’m sure he never heard of you either. I loved Maggie Thatcher’s response. So classic late 20th century Fog Breather.
He integrated American Bandstand with no fanfare. He deserves much respect for that alone.